It is a story that has gone down in the annals of American art history: a New Yorker visiting upstate Hoosick Falls is entranced by four pictures hanging in the window of a drugstore. Investigating further, he learns they are the handiwork of a 78-year-old widow. Thus begins the rise to fame of Grandma Moses--farmwife, painter, and unlikely celebrity.

In this book Karal Ann Marling, distinguished observer of American visual culture, looks at Grandma Moses as a cultural phenomenon of the postwar period and explores the meaning of her subject matter--and her astonishing fame. What did the "Greatest Generation" see in her simple renderings of people, young and old, tapping maple trees for syrup, making apple butter, gliding across snowy fields on sleighs? Why did Bob Hope, Irving Berlin, and Harry Truman all love her--and the art czars of New York openly despise her? Through the flood of Moses merchandise--splashed across Christmas cards, dishware, yard goods, and gewgaws of every kind--Marling traces the resonances that these "primitive" images struck in an America awkwardly adjusting to a new era of technology, suburbia, and Cold War tensions.

Between the cultural ephemera, folklore, song, and history embedded in Moses' paintings and the potent advertising shorthand for Americana that her images rapidly became, this book reveals the widespread longing for the memories, comforts, and small victories of a mythic, intimate American past tapped by the phenomenon--in art and commerce alike--of Grandma Moses.

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About the Author:

Karal Ann Marling is Professor of Art History at the University of Minnesota.

Book Description Harvard University Press, 2006. Book Condition: New. Brand New, Unread Copy in Perfect Condition. A+ Customer Service! Summary: It is no mean feat to re-cast a national icon in a new light, but Karal Ann Marling manages to do so. Marling's text is a provocative delight--lively, insightful, and mercifully free of jargon. It is an important contribution to the appreciation of a singular artistic personality; equally significant, it provides new illumination to a telling episode in American taste. Students of both art history and American Studies--as well as the legions of Grandma Moses' admirers--should find it a valuable addition to the literature. This is the way art history ought to be written. Another Marling triumph. Bookseller Inventory # ABE_book_new_0674022262

Book Description HARVARD UNIVERSITY PRESS, United States, 2006. Hardback. Book Condition: New. 239 x 206 mm. Language: English Brand New Book. It is a story that has gone down in the annals of American art history: a New Yorker visiting upstate Hoosick Falls is entranced by four pictures hanging in the window of a drugstore. Investigating further, he learns they are the handiwork of a 78-year-old widow. Thus begins the rise to fame of Grandma Moses - farmwife, painter and unlikely celebrity. In this book Karal Ann Marling, distinguished observer of American visual culture, looks at Grandma Moses as a cultural phenomenon of the post-war period and explores the meaning of her subject matter - and her astonishing fame. What did the Greatest Generation see in her simple renderings of people, young and old, tapping maple trees for syrup, making apple butter, gliding across snowy fields on sleighs? Why did Bob Hope, Irving Berlin, and Harry Truman all love her - and the art tsars of New York openly despise her? Through the flood of Moses merchandise - splashed across Christmas cards, dishware, garden goods, and gewgaws of every kind - Marling traces the resonances that these primitive images struck in an America awkwardly adjusting to a new era of technology, suburbia, and Cold War tensions. Between the cultural ephemera, folklore, song and history embedded in Moses paintings and the potent advertising shorthand for Americana that her images rapidly became, this book reveals the widespread longing for the memories, comforts, and small victories of a mythic, intimate American past tapped by the phenomenon - in art and commerce alike - of Grandma Moses. Bookseller Inventory # AAH9780674022263

Book Description HARVARD UNIVERSITY PRESS, United States, 2006. Hardback. Book Condition: New. 239 x 206 mm. Language: English Brand New Book. It is a story that has gone down in the annals of American art history: a New Yorker visiting upstate Hoosick Falls is entranced by four pictures hanging in the window of a drugstore. Investigating further, he learns they are the handiwork of a 78-year-old widow. Thus begins the rise to fame of Grandma Moses - farmwife, painter and unlikely celebrity. In this book Karal Ann Marling, distinguished observer of American visual culture, looks at Grandma Moses as a cultural phenomenon of the post-war period and explores the meaning of her subject matter - and her astonishing fame. What did the Greatest Generation see in her simple renderings of people, young and old, tapping maple trees for syrup, making apple butter, gliding across snowy fields on sleighs? Why did Bob Hope, Irving Berlin, and Harry Truman all love her - and the art tsars of New York openly despise her? Through the flood of Moses merchandise - splashed across Christmas cards, dishware, garden goods, and gewgaws of every kind - Marling traces the resonances that these primitive images struck in an America awkwardly adjusting to a new era of technology, suburbia, and Cold War tensions. Between the cultural ephemera, folklore, song and history embedded in Moses paintings and the potent advertising shorthand for Americana that her images rapidly became, this book reveals the widespread longing for the memories, comforts, and small victories of a mythic, intimate American past tapped by the phenomenon - in art and commerce alike - of Grandma Moses. Bookseller Inventory # AAH9780674022263

Book Description 2006. Hardcover. Book Condition: New. 212mm x 23mm x 237mm. Hardcover. It is a story that has gone down in the annals of American art history: a New Yorker visiting upstate Hoosick Falls is entranced by four pictures hanging in the window of a drugstore. Inve.Shipping may be from multiple locations in the US or from the UK, depending on stock availability. 290 pages. 1.129. Bookseller Inventory # 9780674022263